Simone Biles: American Gymnastics legend wins AP Female Athlete of the Year

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has been crowned the 2023 Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press (AP) in the U.S.

Biles claimed the esteemed prize after a panel of sports media professionals voted for her.

This is also the third time Biles wins the award. She had previously won it after the Rio 2016 Olympics and also in 2019.

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The 26-year-old publicly shared her mental health struggles during Tokyo 2020 in 2021. She then took a break from the sport prior to her incredible comeback this season.

In April this year, she also got married to her sweetheart Jonathan Owens, an NFL player with the Houston Texans.

In June, she announced her return and thereafter sealed her eighth individual all-around title at the U.S. Championships in August. Biles’ remarkable comeback continued on the world stage in Antwerp in October. She claimed her sixth World Championship title in the all-around, in addition to gold medals in team, floor exercise, and balance beam events.

“I will always have the freedom to choose what I want to do after my career is over,” Biles said while speaking in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com’s Scott Bregman earlier this season. “But I can’t continue my career indefinitely.”

Simone Biles is a legend

Biles is an exceptional, world-class athlete who has accrued a total of 30 world medals, 23 of which are gold.

The Gymnast is among six women to have won the AP award for a third time. Other notable sportswomen to have done so include Serena Williams and Annika Sorenstam.

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Biles won this prestigious award ahead of basketball star Caitlin Clark and Aitana Bonmati. The latter a Barcelona player who led Spain to the Women’s World Cup title in August.